Speed indicator and recorder.



L. l. DAFT.

SPEED mmc/WOR AND RECORDER.

APPLlCATlON FILED JULY 28. 1914.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

I l t 1155: lll... III

INVENTOH www 9,1m#

ATTORNEY THE COLUMNA PLANOGRAPH cu., v/AsmxamN. D. c.

WTNESSES.'

LNGFELLOVT J. DAFT, OF 1S AGU I-, VIA -IINGTON.

SPEED INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters latent.

erm RECORDER.

Application filed July 2K8, 1914. Serial No. 853,757.

To allfwwm tvmag/ concern Be it known that I, LoNGrnnLow J. Darn citizen of the United `States, residing at i Issaquah, ink thecounty of Kin@ and. State.

\ videy an air controlled and air operated speed indicator thatkis connected with a moving dial in such a manner that lan accurate dia,- grammatic rec-ord` of the movement o-f the associated` vehicle or mechanism .with respect to time will be preserved on such dial and further to provide simple and efficient means for compressing the air that operates such speed indicator, I accomplish hese objects byv devices-illustrated in the accom-V aanying drawings in which the figure is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation` of a speed yindicator andrecorder embodying my invention as itV may` appearwhen -it is associated with a motor vehicle,a. fragment only of which vehicle is shown.

s For the purpose of preserving a record of the time yduring which a. motor vehicle travels and the speedat which such yve- Y Y hicle may be traveling at any instant during such time I have provided-a speed indi-r cator and recorder that may be described by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein the numeral 5 indicates a portionof f thefloor of a lmotor vehicle and 6 is a drivingV shaft that is connected with the wheels (not showniofsuch motor vehicle insuch mannerA that its `rotation will have a fixed relation to the speed of the vehicle.Y

A dial-plate 7 is faced withan arbitrarily marked vpaper dial and is adapted to be'revolved by clock work (not shownyand 8 is @pointer armthat ismounted on a pivotl) and articulated with a piston rod l0 by a pin .l1 at a-short distance from said pivot 9, such pointer arm S beingof sui'iicient length to .reach to the center or the dial-plate '7 and there provided with whenY the vehicle is at rest, will be positioned in the exact center of the dial-,plate 7, but when such pointer arm 8 is moved in response to a movement o 'Y the piston rod l0 then such pencil i9 is adapted to be carried from its central position by such pointer arm 8 to drag; on the paper dial to leave a mark tiereon. ,Y c

rEhel piston rod i0 entends downwardly into a cylinder 13 .and has itslower end secured to a piston le that is adapted to move upwardly and downwardly within such cylinder 13, ay downward .pressure being constantly exerted onV the piston let by a compression spring l5 which bears one end against `suoli piston and its other end against a cap l@ that is provided on the top of the cylinder i collar l? is provided on thepiston rod l0 to stop such piston lat atv a desired point in its downward movement whereby the pencilY point l2 may be brought to rest in the center of the paper dial. when no upward pressure is exerted on thev piston llt,

,"lhe cylinder 18 is provided with an air tight bottom 19 into which is threaded an air pipe QOthat is adapted to conduct air under pressure from a tank 2l into the space l etween .the bottom 19V and the piston li to lift .such piston and move the pointer arm 8 over the paper-dial to cause'the pencil point Yl2 to maltev a mark on said paper-dial.` lie/ tank 2l is provided with a stop-cock 2 oirits bottom side kand with an air valve 3 on its top sideand has its outer end connected ,by a passageway Q-lwith a pump cylinder within whichl is disposed a piston /lqthatris connectedby a ,connecting rod 2? with van eccentric Q8 that is provided on the drivingI shaft 6 of the vehicle whereby when such driving shaft G is rotated the piston Q6 will be caused to reciprocate within thewcylinder .to compress air in the tanl; 21, theA amount of such air that is fcrced into the tank 2l each stroke of the pistonQS being` regulated by an adjustable cylinder'head Q9 which serves as a valve be- Patented Maiz 14;, 197146.

pencil l2 which,

tween the cylinder 25 and the tank 21 such cylinder head 29 being secured to a threaded stem or shaft 30 that extends upwardly through the wall of the passageway 24 and is provided on its top end with a handwheel 31 by which it may be turned to raise or lower the cylindrical head 29 within the cylinder 25.

The cylinder head 29 is provided in its periphery with longitudinal ports 29a, and seated upon the top of the head is a flexible valve 29b dished upward, so that air pressure will cause the valve to lift and permit air to escape through the passageway 24 to the tank 21.

The piston 26 is provided with similar peripheral longitudinal ports 26a and has combined with it an upward dished valve 26b which will yield on the downward' movement of the piston 26 and permit air to escape into the space between the head 29 and piston 26. By this arrangement it will be seen that the reciprocations of the piston 26 will cause air to be supplied to the tank 21 from which it is held against escape by the valve 29".

The paper-dial on the dial-plate 7 may be marked out in any desired manner but for the purpose of illustration 1 have shown it divided into units of time by curved radial lines 32 and into units representing speed by circularv lines 33, the distance between adjacent curved radial lines 32 representing an interval ottime of fifteen minutes and the distance between adjacent concentric circular lines 33Ymay represent a variation of speed of two miles per hour but obviously these oraduations may be changed to suit the special conditions under which the speed indicator and recorder is working.

The movement of the pointer arm 8 over the paper-dial is governed by the pressure of the air in the air tank 21 and the pressure of the air in such tank is governed by the'speed of rotation of the shaft 6 and by the air valve 23. Thus when the shaft 6 is rotated at a certain speed, to cause the auto vehicle with which it is associated to travel at a certain speed, air will be compressed in the tank to a certain degree of pressure, the air valve 23 being regulated to permit the escape of such air suliiciently fast to prevent the pressure in the tank varying unless the rotary velocity of the shaft 6 is raised to cause air to enter the tank 21 at a greater or lesser rate, and the tank 21 being connected with the cylinder 13 by the pipe 20, air pressure from the tank- 21 is communicated to the space below the piston 14 to lift such pistonl against the lpressure of the spring 15 to cause the pointer arm 8 to move the pencil 12 over the paper-dial to register the speed at which the vehicle travels at any instant of time, the curved lines 32 on the paper-dial being drawn with a radius of a length equal to their distance from the pivot 9 to the center of the dialplate 7 whereby when the arm 8 moves outwardly the pencil point 12 will move parallel to said lines 32.

The dial-plate 7 herein illustrated is adapted by suitable clock work (not shown) to make one complete revolution in twelve hours and the mark of the pencil 12 on the paper-dial constitutes an accurate time record of the rate of speed at whichY the car has traveled at any hour or fraction of an hour during that twelve hours. If, for instance, the dial-plate with its paper-dial is set in motion at 12 oclock and the car with which it is associated is started immediately and driven at a given speed for half an hour then the record on the paperdial will show by the mark of the pencil 12 that from 12 oclock to 12,30, the car moved at such certain speed, and if the car was then stopped the pointer would return to the position shown vin the drawing and the record would show a stop. A Y

The cylinder head 29 may be adjusted vertically in the cylinder 25 by grasping the handwheel 31 and screwing the stem 30 up or down in the cylinder 25 to vary its distance from the piston 26. Thus when it is desired that more air shall be pumped into the tank 21 at each stroke of the piston the adjustable head 29 is moved downwardly toward the piston 26 so that a smaller clearance space will be left between the head 29 and the piston 26 when the piston 26 is at the end of its compression stroke, and if it be desired that less air shall be pumped into tank 21 on each stroke of the piston then the adjustable head' 29 is moved farther away from 'the piston 26 to leave a larger space between such head 29 and piston 26 at the end of the compression stroke of said piston. Y

The stop-cock 22 is normally adapted to be closed but may be opened for the purpose of draining the tank 21 if water should collect therein or of quickly relieving the pressure, and the air valve 23 may be so regulated that it will relieve the air pressure within such tank fast enough when the pump is working to cause the pointer arm 8 always to register the correct number of miles per hour.

Manifestly numerous changes in the various details embodied in my speed indicator and recorder may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What I claim is:

1n a speed indicator and recorder, a revo-- luble shaft, a pump operable by the revolutionof the shaft to compress air, a tank to receive the air when compressed, a revoluble indicator disk carrier, a cylinder, si piston 1n said cylinder, a pencil carrying arm operatively connected with said piston, a

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 1ny name this 16th clay of July, A. D. 1914.

11 ,Y spring normally urging Seid piston in one LONGFALLOXJ J' DAFT direction, and a pipe connecting the tank Witnesses: and cylinder whereby to force said piston J. H. GIBSON,

against the action of Said spring. MASON CRITTS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. C. 

